1969
by MistressSara
Summary: A year after that dreadful Thanksgiving Peggy finds a visitor waiting in her new office. Peggy/Ted
1. Chapter 1

It had been a year since everything happened that Thanksgiving week. Now the holiday was upon Sterling, Cooper, & Partners once more. 1969 had been a bizarre year for Peggy Olson, taking a route that the secretary turned copywriter turned copy chief had never really expected. With her taking over creative while Don was "on leave" and after Ted fled to the west coast, Joan insisted that she move into Don's office. The reason being that business couldn't be conducted in the tiny office with obscuring post in the middle. She reluctantly agreed, knowing that Ted's office was just across the way, sitting empty for when he had to return for business meetings.

She didn't want to stay in her office. Too much time had been spent in there either with him or thinking about him.

It almost felt as though she owed Don an apology. And she would have given him one if his motives had been her wellbeing. They both knew that his actions were out of spite for Ted.

She didn't speak to Don that much, an occasional call with a question about an account he had worked on or how to deal with one of clients. The calls were always full of tense silences, neither sure what to say, if they should comment on the situation they found themselves in. One of the earlier calls he waited until she was about to hang up before muttering:

_ "I'm sorry about Ted…"_

_ "So am I." Was her icy reply._

_ "He should've handled things better with you."_

_ "Some men just don't know how to deal with a mistress." _

The topic wasn't brought up again after that. Even after her hurt began to ebb away. She still had to answer to Ted about business. That was all that they ever discussed, work. Phone calls were kept to a minimum if she could relay a message through someone else or send a bi-costal memo. Hearing his voice was still painful. The first time she answered the phone she hung up on him, her mind returning to that night spent in her bed. His broken promises, how he professed his love while pulling her clothes off. It was too much and before he could manage an "I'm sorry" she had hung up the phone. The year had passed with as much radio silence as possible.

But soon the rumors came through. Moira had mentioned something to one of the other secretaries, which Joan eventually heard then casually relayed to Peggy.

"Did you hear about what happened in California?" Joan asked as she settled into her seat in Peggy's office, watching her friend make them after-hours drinks.

"Did the sun stop shining?" Peggy chuckled, taking a sip of her gin and tonic while passing the glass to Joan.

"Only for one. Apparently Nan left Ted. Took the kids with her."

"Well… that's too bad." Peggy managed. She was certain how she felt. Their divorce wasn't on her, that much she was sure of.

"She met a hippie and ran off to San Francisco with him to live in Haight Ashbury! Can you believe that?"

"Those poor boys." Was all Peggy could think to say.

"Poor Ted."

"Hardly."

"What happened between the two of you."

"He said he wanted me, then decided that he wanted me too much and couldn't do that to his family."

"I'm sorry."

"It's better that nothing came of it. I've just decided to swear off dating all together."

"Good, just use men for sex." Joan laughed.

"That will be the new plan. My record certainly suggests that it should be. I've driven one man 3,000 miles away from me, stabbed one, oh and there was Duck who showed up here drunk one night and tried to defecate in Roger's office then called me a whore."

"You and Duck seem to have gotten over that at least."

"We have." Peggy tried to hide her smirk by taking a drink.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Are you sleeping with him again?"

"What? No… why would you…"

"You are!"

"Only twice since he's been here. A bit of stress release."

"Sure." Joan smiled knowingly, catching a glance at her watch. "I should head home."

"Big plans for tomorrow night?" Peggy asked, taking their empty glasses and walking down the hall with Joan.

It still felt weird to let someone else wash the glasses from her bar cart. Unless she was slammed Peggy would take care of them herself.

"My mother, Roger and Kevin. A tradition Thanksgiving."

"Sounds nice."

"What about you?"

"Working, avoiding my family at all costs."

"Sounds about right. Maybe Duck will keep you company."

"I hope not." Peggy laughed. "Have a good Thanksgiving."

"You too."

And then the office was quiet, Peggy was alone again…

"Naturally." She laughed to herself walking back to her office.

"Hi." A voice greeted her after she closed the door behind her. With a startled scream she dropped the glass in her hand, which dropped to the floor and shattered.

"Ted."

"Hi, Peggy."


	2. Chapter 2

"I didn't mean to startle you." He began to apologize.

"Lurking in my office was certainly an interesting choice then." She snapped, looking around for something to clean up the broken glass with.

"I heard you with Joan and didn't want to interrupt…" He knelt down to help sweep the shards onto a piece of paper.

"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly, trying to keep her tone even. They hadn't been in the same room together alone for a year now. When he was back for business she would always make sure they weren't left alone together, for fear of what either of them might try to say. Knowing Ted he would try to be cordial, ask her how life was treating her. Peggy knew she couldn't play nice, she didn't have it in her to ask how life in California was.

"There was a meeting earlier this evening, about the state of the two branches and bringing Don back."

"I'll ask Joan to find me another office so that Don can have his." Peggy nodded, looking around and trying to figure out what to box up first.

Over the year she had slowly started to get comfortable in the office, moving in some her art and putting Don's aside. It wasn't overly cluttered with her things but it would take two trips at least to move things on her own.

"There's no need for that. Don is going to take over the California branch, ease back into things and I'm coming back to New York."

"I should still move back into a smaller office then. No point having me in here if I'm going back to copy chief." She disposed of the broken glass and returned the other to the bar. Anything to keep her from having to meet his eyes. If she looked to long she would started to remember that night, how he had pushed the door shut and gazed at her before kissing her.

"Well, we've decided to keep you in the same position, if you would like to continue, that is. You've done an amazing job this year. We'll split the accounts, hopefully a bit more successfully than Don and I did."

"Great. Thank you." She nodded, sitting down and looking over the papers on her desk.

"Peggy, are you ever going to look at me?"

"I haven't decided yet." Her whispered answer barely reaching his ears. Ted eased into the chair across from her desk and waited. Slowly she managed to look up at him, not allowing their eyes to meet for too long. "You're tan."

"The sun shines 90% of the time there."

"Looks like you've…" The words caught in her throat and she turned away again.

"Hawaii." He nodded, his thoughts having took the same path as hers.

"I spent Christmas working. Pale as ever I'm afraid."

"Peggy, could we talk about what happened?"

"No."

"Please. I'm sure you've heard by now about why I'm back here alone."

"Yes, I heard. I'm sorry, that must be very difficult for your boys. But the conversation ends there. Business, polite small talk, nothing more." She was looking at him again, her "I mean business" expression firmly in place.

"Peggy…"

"No. You don't get to come back here after a year and pretend like nothing happened. I'm not some toy you put on the shelf until you're free to play again."

"I never treated you like a toy."

"Oh please. You kiss me, push me aside, tell me you love me, tell me we can never be anything, flirt with me until someone calls you out on it, get jealous when someone else shows an interest in me, sleep with me and then push me aside again. You just kept winding the key and I kept going along with it because I love… loved you too."

"Love or loved, Peggy?"

Their eyes met for a brief moment, in which Ted had his answer and a glimmer of hope before she looked away.

"Hey, Peewee, thought you might still be… oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were having a meeting."

Ted's expression fell as he turned to the door behind him.

"Ted. Good to see you." Duck greeted, holding a hand out to the man.

"Duck." He nodded, shaking his hand. "You're here late."

"Just stopping back in. Had a dinner with a client, figured Peg would still be at the grindstone." He smiled at her and Ted had never wanted to punch a man more in his life. Especially when she smiled back.

"Pie?" Peggy asked, studiously ignoring Ted's gaze.

"Always. But we should get some dinner in you first."

"Sounds great. I'll meet you by the elevator?"

"Ted, I'll see you tomorrow." Duck nodded, leaving the office.

"Bye, Duck." He managed.

"Your office should be as you left it." Peggy commented as she closed a few files on her desk and tucked them into her case.

"What… what's going on between you and Duck?"

"That is none of your business." She replied sweetly, pulling her jacket and hat on.

"Peggy."

"Go home, Ted." Was all she said, taking her purse and case from the desk. "Or at least lock my office door behind you. Duck's waiting."

"Ready, baby?" Duck's voice echoed down the hall. He must have waited by the reception desk.

"Yup, all ready."

Ted sat there in silence, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He remembered hearing rumors a couple of years back about Duck and a copy writer, but never gave it much thought before… it must have been Peggy. And he drove her right back into his arms. Trying to work was an exercise in futility. He barely had his office door open and desk light on before he stood up again, pulling on his jacket and hurrying out again. Not bothering to grab his umbrella.

"Trying to make him jealous?" Duck asked as they drove back from the diner towards her house. The rain was pouring down hard by the time they reached her street.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh kiddo, of course I do." He got as close to her building as he could, the curb was blocked by parked cars. "Do you want me to come in?"

"Not tonight. Thank you for dinner."

"Thanks for the company, Peewee." He laughed as she furrowed her brow at the nickname. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night."

Peggy closed the door, pausing to wave back at Duck before he pulled away. As she got closer to building she realized there was someone lurking on the steps. Her hand immediately went to her bag, pulling out the large canister.

"I've got pepper spray." She called out to him.

"Please don't use it."

"You're making a nasty habit of lurking." She sighed, pushing the can back into her purse. "You're soaked! How long have you been out here?"

"Not much of a gentleman, doesn't walk you to the door." Was Ted's response, ignoring her question.

"I don't spend time with him after hours because he behaves like a gentleman." Was her reply as she pushed open the outside door. She could see his jaw clench at the implication, that same flash of jealousy in his eyes. Still didn't like other people playing with his toys.

"Are you coming in or just loitering on my stoop all night?"

"He's not looking for a parking spot?"

"Not tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

"This is terribly familiar." Peggy sighed as she pulled out her second set of keys.

"I'm surprised that you stayed here." Ted mused, following her as she opened the inside door.

"With the pay bump I was able to afford to kick the people upstairs out and finish fixing everything up."

"Neighborhood seems a bit better." He looked around the expanded space, all very Peggy in its design. She disappeared for a moment into the laundry room, returning with a towel for him to dry off.

"A little. Ted, what are you doing here? I thought I had made myself clear at the office."

"We were interrupted before you answered my question. Thought I'd wait until you got back from your… _date_."

"You really don't have any right to come around here and interrogate me about my personal life. That was _your_ decision, remember, Ted? You made that decision for me and now you just have to deal with the fall out."

"I know I hurt you, but Duck Phillips?" Ted was struggling to keep from shouting at her.

"That's right. Duck Phillips. You can say a lot of things about him but he never makes grand promises then breaks them and puts 3,000 miles between us… you know, just incase he can't control himself. He doesn't fuck me and then make me feel cheap about it the next day. Like I tricked him into something and he has to run away before I can do it again."

"I did not… fuck you." He seemed to stumble over the word. "We made love and you know it."

"I know that just because you're suddenly available doesn't mean that I've forgotten anything. You keep claiming to love me then throw me aside… you made me into the other woman. I don't want to be the other woman, I want to be the only woman."

"You are the only woman." He pleaded, taking her hand as she tried to usher him out the door. "_She_ was the other woman, you are the one I love Peggy. I meant what I had said that night. I love you and if it weren't for my boys I would have left my wife for you. I would have done it in a heartbeat, but I couldn't do that to my family."

"It sounds much more noble when you say it like that and not while removing my dress. I never asked you to leave your wife. I never asked you for anything. I was prepared to just pretend that first kiss never happened. You don't want anyone else to have me, but you decided you didn't want me either."

"I want you Peggy. I always want you. I've spent the last year wanting nothing more than to see you smile at me from across the office again. Hell, I would have settled for a glare from you if it meant we were in the same room together again."

"What am I supposed to do? Just welcome you back into my life? Into my bed? I love you but how can I ever trust you? How do I know that you won't go running back to Nan if she suddenly wises up and wants you back? Am I supposed to reinvest just to have you run away from me again?"

She froze, the tears finally streaming down her face. Peggy quickly turned away from him, leaning against the back of one of the chairs in the living room for support.

"Please don't cry, Peggy." His voice moved closer, then his hands rested on her shoulders, warm through the fabric of her sweater. When she didn't push him off, he moved a bit closer, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. It wasn't until he pressed a kiss to her temple that she moved away.

"You can sleep on the couch if you don't want to face the rain. There are blankets and a pillow in the hall closet. I'm going to bed." She explained quietly before disappearing upstairs.

Ted set up on the couch. He hadn't reserved a hotel room yet and forgot his suitcase back at the office. It was strange to be in her house again, just the two of them. Glancing towards the area that once served as her bedroom, he could see that she had turned it into an office. A small desk with a typewriter facing the window, so she could sit and work while looking out over the yard which now housed a small garden. Putting his suit aside, Ted climbed into the makeshift bed in his boxers and undershirt.

The house was silent. And, unbeknownst to either of the occupants, steadily growing colder as the furnace sputtered to a halt. The cold eventually woke Ted, forcing him to climb the stairs in search of Peggy's bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

"Peggy?" Ted whispered, knocking lightly on the only closed door upstairs. His other hand keeping the blanket he had taken from the couch wrapped around him. The temperature seemed to be dropping fast in the house. As the heater had shut off the cold of a New York November seemed to seep into every room.

"Come in." Came her muffled reply.

He carefully pushed the door open, almost worried that any sudden movements might force her to change her mind. It wasn't as though he had come up stairs in search of something salacious, just warmth. Which might prove to be a greater request than anything.

"I think there's something wrong with your furnace." He stated plainly, looking around her bedroom.

It was different from her old bedroom, same bed though, he certainly spent enough time thinking about her bed over the last year. The walls had been painted a darker, warm red. It didn't necessarily scream Peggy, but it made the room seem more comfortable, something calm for her to come home to after a long day alone. It pained him to think that Duck might have joined her in this room after one of those long days. It should have been him. He should have come to an understanding with Nan, divorce but visitation with the boys. In the end his sacrifice had been for nothing, he had given up Peggy and still lost his children. He tried to be a moral person and ended up with nothing but his morals.

"I know, it's been acting up. My brother-in-law is coming to fix it this weekend." She didn't roll over to face him, she simply stayed on her side, facing away from the door.

"It's freezing downstairs."

If the apartment weren't so quiet her sigh might have gone unnoticed. Wordlessly she reached an arm behind her and pulled the sheets back to invite him into the bed. She shifted away from the middle, readjusting the pillow beneath her head. Not wanting to appear over-eager, he moved to join her, adding his blanket to the pile on the bed.

"Hands to yourself." She murmured.

"You know I wouldn't force anything."

"I know."

He settled into the bed, welcoming the warmth from the mountain of blankets and Peggy's proximity. He could tell that she was still awake, despite her desperate attempt to fake sleep. The silence and tension seemed to be growing until:

"It's much quieter out there than it used to be." He mused.

"Those kids found a new place to hang out after midnight."

"Thank goodness for that…" He glanced towards her and realized she was shaking. "Are you shivering?"

"It's cold."

"Come closer."

"No. I forget myself when you touch me." She admitted softly, clutching her pillow tighter.

"Peggy…"

"Would it had made a difference?"

"What?"

"If I didn't tell you to go home that night? Would you still have changed your mind?"

"I've thought about that almost every night for months."

"As long as we've both been losing sleep over it."

"If I could…"

"Don't do that. Makes no sense to torture us more than we already have been." Peggy slowly rolled onto her back, still not looking in his direction.

"I wish I did better by you."

"I missed you." Her hand found his under the comforter.

"I missed you too."

"I'm not ready to trust you again… yet." She whispered.

"But… do you think there might be a future? For us?"

"Yes."

"Are you still cold?" Her shivering still hadn't subsided.

"I am freezing."

"Come here."

She started to move to rest her head on his chest but stopped and turned away again.

"Not like that, not yet." She said, thinking of how they last laid together like that, with him stroking her hair and making plans for Christmas.

"Okay." He waited until she was settled again before curling around her. "What are you plans for tomorrow?"

"Turkey sandwich and working."

"What would you say to turkey dinner and I'll fix your furnace?"

"Do you know about either of those things?"

"Furnace? Yes. Cooking? No. But I know where we can get a premade dinner."

"No, I can cook."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Can't remember the last time I cooked for more than one person."

"You don't… entertain much?"

"Not much. You can unclench your jaw." He could almost hear her smile.

Peggy wouldn't admit it, but she was glad to know that he was still jealous of other men. She could feel him relax against her, his arm pulling her a bit closer.

"I did miss you." She repeated, resting her hand over his.

"I missed you too, Peggy. So much."

For the first time in a year, Peggy and Ted had their first good night of sleep.


End file.
